Chapter Title: Siren Song
Chapter Synapses: A woman stranded on a planet hails Hyperion, But a rescue mission becomes far more risky when the circumstances of her crash become apparent.
Written by: Seraph Koji
"Reading a general distress call. From a shuttlecraft in the Reten System." Talara reported.
"Ivano, set course and engage at warp factor eight. Talara, open a channel." Starwind ordered.
"This is a shuttlecraft from the Federation starship Nixon to any ship within range. My name is Ensign Penelope Harper. My shuttle encountered a gravimetric anomaly and I'm marooned. I am running low on food and medical supplied. Please hurry." The voice of a woman crackled over the comm..
"I'm Captain Victor Starwind of the Federation starship Hyperion. Ensign Harper, we are en route, but it will take us a couple days to reach your location." Starwind replied, "We will check on you regularly in the meantime. Keep an open comm. link."
"Yes, sir!" Harper replied gleefully, "Harper out!"
"Time to her location?" Starwind asked.
Ivano read his instruments, "Three days at present speed."
Starwind turned to Talara.
"I've already sent the information to the USS Nixon. They're a little farther out than we are." She said.
"Chief Medical Officer's personal log, stardate 57303.9. Captain Starwind has informed me that we are en route to a distress call sent off by an Ensign. Penelope Harper, he said. I know Penelope. She and I met at the Academy… It's been years… I wonder if she remembers me?"
Sen sat in his office adjoining sick bay. He was anxious, this was a buisness call to an old friend. "Sick Bay to Ensign Harper." He said reluctantly, "I'm Doctor Sen of the Hyperion. Are you injured?"
"I had a couple of scrapes, but I patched myself up with the dermal regenerator." The female voice responded.
"Good." Sen paused, "I want to run some tests when we arrive. Make sure you didn't contract anything. I've retrieved your medical logs from Doctor Kraylor of the Nixon."
"Okay." There was a pause, then Harper added, "Why do I find your name familiar?"
Sen smiled, "Sen Asim of Bajor." He said, refreshing her memory.
Starwind shot the floating disk with his hand phaser, turning it blue and deflecting it toward VonBach.
"Captain," VonBach calmly shot the disk, "I remind you, I'm the best Velocity player on Hyperion."
The now red disk flew back at Starwind, "Maybe, Joseph." Starwind dove under the disk and shot it again, redirecting it, "Maybe not."
The disk hit VonBach, and vanished. The computer chirped, "Victory: Victor Starwind. Game end. Victor Starwind 6, Joseph VonBach 4. Victory: Victor Starwind."
"Must hurt." Starwind rose to his feet.
VonBach scoffed, "Lucky shot."
"Maybe." Starwind exited the holodeck.
"Harper to Starwind." Starwind's comm. badge blipped,
Starwind tapped his badge, "Ensign! So, Phral tapped you into our ship's comm. network?"
"Yes." Harper's voice replied, "The Chief is a Denobulian, isn't he? I can kind of tell."
"Yeah." Starwind chuckled as he walked down the corridor bound for the turbolift.
Starwind sat in his quarters still on the comm. with Harper. Starwind held a padd.
"What are you working on?" Harper asked.
"Testimony." Starwind replied, "Two days ago someone in our brig was taken to trial. Since I can't be there, I'm sending my testimony over subspace." There was quiet stillness in the room for a moment. "What about you, Ensign?"
"Trying to repair long-range sensors." Harper replied. Sparks crackled in the background, "Unsuccessfully."
Starwind laughed.
Talara leaned on her bridge console, "The Captain is still talking to this Harper girl."
"What do we know about her?" Ivano asked.
Collins sat in the central chair of the bridge, "Ensign Harper is the pilot of the Prometheus class starship, USS Nixon."
"Do I detect a hint of disapproval in your voice, ma'am?" Ivano asked.
"She's jealous." Winters stood at Tactical, "Harper is spending a lot of time with the Captain."
Collins shot Winters a glare, "Lets stop there, Lieutenant."
Talara interjected some seriousness, "Receiving a hail from the USS Nixon."
"On screen" Collins rose, "I'm Commander Dorian Collins of the Federation starship Hyperion."
A slightly aged man sat at the center of the bridge on screen, "My name's Captain Donavan Ramsey." He paused, choosing words with care, "You are en route to pick up a member of my crew?"
"Yes." Collins replied.
"Do you know why she crashed?"
An hour or so later, Collins stood before the senior officers, "Hyperion to Harper." She tapped her badge, "We have a question for you."
"Yes, ma'am?" Harper replied.
"How did you crash?"
Harper paused, "I was on my way to starbase to rendezvous with the Nixon. I was coming back from shore leave. I was reading an odd energy signature from the surface of this planet, so I decided to investigate. And an energy storm hit me."
"Thank you, Ensign. Hyperion out." Collins opened a display on the screen opposite the head of the table.
"This is Reten V, the planet Ensign Harper is stranded on." Collins explained.
Winters stood next to the screen, pointing to a blip on the surface, "This is the energy signature. It looks advanced and of an unknown configuration. Perfect to pique curiosity."
"When a ship enters orbit of the planet, the energy source pulses and this energy storm, ever-present just beyond the planet's exosphere, moves to intercept the craft." Collins explained, "Like a trap of some sort."
"This must be recent." Starwind examined the display.
Winters nodded, "We assume so."
"Will this hinder a rescue attempt?" Sen asked, concerned.
"Greatly." Phral, too, studied the diagram, "We can't hope to get a transporter lock on her with that kind of interference."
"Options?" Starwind asked.
"Hyperion can handle the storm far better than, say, a runabout. If Hyperion occupied the storm, a runabout could move beneath the storm and should be able to get a transporter lock." Talara suggested.
"Is there any evidence that the storm can't multi-target?" Phral asked.
"We aren't sure if it can or can't." Winters replied.
Starwind felt uneasy. "VonBach, I want us on Yellow Alert once we exit warp. Lieutenant Talara, prepare your runabout plan. You, Lieutenant Winters, and… what's the new transporter chief's name?"
"Ensign Walter Harman, sir." Collins replied.
"And him." Starwind said.
"Sir." Ivano protested, "If they encounter the storm, I'm their best shot."
"Ivano, I want you on our bridge. Lieutenant Talara is a skillful pilot, she can handle it." Starwind explained. "Dismissed." The crew filed out leaving him alone in the room. He tapped his badge, "Starwind to Harper…"
"Captain's log, stardate 57305.2. Hyperion is preparing to attempt our rescue mission. We arrived slightly ahead of schedule here, but the planet's odd energy storms will make a rescue operation hazardous. The Nixon is still a day off, and Ensign Harper is low on supplies. We'll have to do the rescue operation now.""Report." Starwind entered the bridge.
"We exited warp in the Reten system just a moment ago." Ivano reported.
"Runabout Merlin is away." Collins reported.
"Yellow Alert. Make a move for the atmosphere, Ivano." Starwind sat in his chair, "Bridge to Engineering, emergency power to the shields."
"Keeping a constant transporter lock on the away team." Collins said, moving to take over Operations.
VonBach monitored shield strength, "Too bad we didn't get any of that ablative hull armor Voyager brought back."
"Nervous, Joe?" Starwind smiled, "I don't plan on dying today, Joseph, nor4 do I plan on letting Ensign Harper die."
"You've gotten rather close to her, haven't you?" Collins said, scornfully.
"Sick Bay to Bridge, I was just on with Ensign Harper. Her condition is worsening." Sen called out in distress, "My fears that she may have contracted something seem justified. Have the runabout crew erect a containment field around the transporter pad and have her beamed directly to sick bay."
"Relay the message, Dorian." Starwind ordered.
Talara sat at the runabout's helm, "Hyperion is moving into position."
"Receiving new orders…" Winters read over them and the containment field buzzed into place.
"The device on the surface is pulsing." Harman reported, "Energy storm is moving in on Hyperion."
Hyperion's bridge rocked.
"The storm has impacted us. Shield strength at seventy percent." VonBach reported.
The bridge continued to shake as Collins reported from Ops. "The runabout is moving past the storm into the atmosphere. The storm is content with attacking us. I can't acquire a positive lock on the runabout crew anymore."
"Ivano, prepare to go into full reverse on my mark." Starwind ordered, "Hyperion to Runabout Merlin, status report!"
The runabout crew flew into the lower atmosphere.
"Got a lock! One life sign on the surface!" Harman triumphantly stated.
"Energize!" Talara ordered.
Behind the containment field, a body materialized.
"Check her!" Talara ordered as she turned the runabout around.
"Hyperion to Runabout Merlin, status report!" the comm. rang out.
"We have her, Captain, we are on our way back to Hyperion." Talara reported, sighing with relief.
"The runabout has exited the atmosphere." Collins reported.
"Shields are failing." VonBach said urgently.
Starwind sat calmly, "Ivano, now! Full reverse!"
"Aye, sir!"
"Collins, once we can get a clear lock, beam Harper to sick bay." Starwind ordered.
"Yes, sir."
"Exiting the storm." Ivano called as the bridge stopped shaking.
Collins looked up from her display, "Got her, she's in sick bay."
"As soon as that runabout is on board, go to warp. Intercept the Nixon." Starwind ordered, exiting to his ready room.
Collins followed him, "Victor." She paused, "Was there anything… anything between Penelope Harper and…"
"Dorian." Starwind looked sternly at her, "Is that an appropriate question?"
"No." She turned away.
"Dorian!" He stopped her, "Don't worry about that."
